Re: Two good articles to read

[DrFranken <midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Agreed that any move to Per Incident support is Bad. Hate the idea. 
Really hate it.

While I am reluctant to use IBM support as a 'Search Engine' they have 
articles and 'retain tips' and what not that they know exist. We only 
'hope' they exist! Sometimes you just need to know WHEN to call!

Last week we opened a ticket for users downloading files located in an 
iASP with the excel plug-in. Some users could see the files others not. 
The guy who took the call said: "I'm quite sure there is an article on 
this. He gave me the 10K ft view and then said: Let me get back to you." 
 About 15 minutes later he sent the article. His comment was hilarious. 
"It's very well written and I KNEW it was out there. It's was written 
years ago so it took me a few minutes to find it. It covers exactly what 
you need. Oh and I should remember it, I WROTE IT." :-)

So don't think of IBM as a 'Last Resort'. Think of the as a team member!

        - Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis

www.Frankeni.com
www.iDevCloud.com - Personal Development IBM i timeshare service.
www.iInTheCloud.com - Commercial IBM i Cloud Hosting.

On 2/1/2017 9:44 AM, Rob Berendt wrote:
> <snip>
> Part of the moral of the story, I guess, is that vendors should also be
> aware of how frequently their customers call for support, and factor that
> into any penalties they charge. In this case, there had been exactly zero
> calls to 1-800-IBM-SERV in the prior three years.
> </snip>
>
> I'm concerned that this just encourages those who are reluctant to call
> IBM on a ticket.  In a way this is like being charged per call.
>
> Perhaps a little more follow up from IBM and/or their business partner
> about renewing would be better.  It could be because of IT turnover, etc.
> Maybe a little follow up on why they don't call for support.  As this may
> lead to not renewing.  IBM would have to get past the fear that this may
> just cause some to drop maintenance out of "if we're not using it then why
> are we paying it?"
>
> BTW, I saw three quotes on the printer for support for Microsoft Office
> 365.  We're planning on upgrading from 2010.  They range from ~$133k to
> ~$250k.  Keep that in mind with the Windows is cheap mentality.
>
> Rob Berendt